Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter about Hester Prynne, a woman in mid-seventeenth century Boston, who commits adultery and has a child. The townspeople try to find the man she committed adultery with throughout the whole book. The townspeople also try to figure out about Pearl, the child born to the adulteress, because she is very different from her mother and the other townspeople. Hester's punishment for committing adultery is she must wear a red letter A with gold embroidery on her clothes so everyone knows what she did. While she is walking towards the scaffold to talk about her punishment and be humiliated in front of everyone, she looks into the crowd and sees her "long lost husband" that they thought was lost at sea. All through the book he is trying to find who the child's father is. Women in the crowd, I believe, were angered because she had committed such a serious crime, but she was so beautiful and that made them jealous. The scarlet letter was used to remind her and everyone else of what she did. Three of the major conflicts in the story were, the conflict between Hester and the town, Mr.Dimmsdale and himself, and finally Hester and her long "lost" husband Roger.
First the conflict between Hester and the town. Before she was shamed she was well respected and had a number of friends in the town. Since wearing the scarlet letter, she was looked down upon. She lived away from the rest of the town in a secluded area. The only thing that she had to keep her company is Pearl. She is able to overcome this after Mr. DImmesdale admitts his sins, mainly because she was left with all the blame. When Pearl inherits a house from Roger which is located in Europe, Pearl stays , but Hester returns to Boston even though her plan was to leave as soon as possible before.
The second conflict, between Mr. Dimsdale and himself, was his guilty conscious telling him to admit his crime. He regretted leaving Hester to deal with this all by herself. I think he wanted to be a father to the baby, but he didn't want to risk his reputation at the expense of Hester and their daughter. This does not help his physical illness and it also gives a bad outlook on his character in the book. In the end though, he confesses being Pearl's father in front of the whole town at a meeting and what other sins he has committed and then he dies. Before he dies, Mr. Dimmesdale showed a letter A he had carved in his chest as his own punishment.
Finally, the conflict between Hester and Roger. Roger is lost in all of this, he has been gone for so long and he has so many changes that have occurred while he was away. He returns to Boston to find his wife walking toward the scaffold. People in the town informs him of her crime and he then vows to find the man who his wife committed this act with and kill him.Roger was surprised to find what Hester had done when he returned to the town. He wasn't pleased with what Hester had done. Surprisingly, he was very good to Pearl even though she was not his daughter.
This story tells us about how America was in New England in the mid-nineteenth century. People didn't take crimes like adultery lightly. They were easy on their punishments compared to America today. Back then, I guess embarrassment was worse than being in jail. Having the whole town know what you did by displaying your crime on your clothing is harsh. People back then are similar to Americans today in being in other peoples business and worrying about others problems instead of their own.
This story also conveys that Religion in the 17th century was more valued then most people view it today. Religion and politics somewhat fit in the same category. The priest was in a way like the governor. In today's society church and state are completely separate and there is NO mixture of the two.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a brilliant writer. He is hard to read sometimes because of the big words he uses. The wording is also different compared to how writers write now. The Scarlet Letter is a good book for its time setting. It has twists and mysteries throughout the whole book. It gives us insight to what life was like in the 17th century.
The setting of House of Seven Gables is centered around the time period of the Salem witch trials. The House of Seven Gables was built on land that used to belong to a man named Matthew Maule who was thought to be a witch. The land was bought by Colonol Pyncheon and he built the seven gabled house that was reputed to be haunted by Matthew Maule's ghost. The house was not only haunted but was one of the biggest estates in the community.
First the conflict between Hester and the town. Before she was shamed she was well respected and had a number of friends in the town. Since wearing the scarlet letter, she was looked down upon. She lived away from the rest of the town in a secluded area. The only thing that she had to keep her company is Pearl. She is able to overcome this after Mr. DImmesdale admitts his sins, mainly because she was left with all the blame. When Pearl inherits a house from Roger which is located in Europe, Pearl stays , but Hester returns to Boston even though her plan was to leave as soon as possible before.
The second conflict, between Mr. Dimsdale and himself, was his guilty conscious telling him to admit his crime. He regretted leaving Hester to deal with this all by herself. I think he wanted to be a father to the baby, but he didn't want to risk his reputation at the expense of Hester and their daughter. This does not help his physical illness and it also gives a bad outlook on his character in the book. In the end though, he confesses being Pearl's father in front of the whole town at a meeting and what other sins he has committed and then he dies. Before he dies, Mr. Dimmesdale showed a letter A he had carved in his chest as his own punishment.
Finally, the conflict between Hester and Roger. Roger is lost in all of this, he has been gone for so long and he has so many changes that have occurred while he was away. He returns to Boston to find his wife walking toward the scaffold. People in the town informs him of her crime and he then vows to find the man who his wife committed this act with and kill him.Roger was surprised to find what Hester had done when he returned to the town. He wasn't pleased with what Hester had done. Surprisingly, he was very good to Pearl even though she was not his daughter.
This story tells us about how America was in New England in the mid-nineteenth century. People didn't take crimes like adultery lightly. They were easy on their punishments compared to America today. Back then, I guess embarrassment was worse than being in jail. Having the whole town know what you did by displaying your crime on your clothing is harsh. People back then are similar to Americans today in being in other peoples business and worrying about others problems instead of their own.
This story also conveys that Religion in the 17th century was more valued then most people view it today. Religion and politics somewhat fit in the same category. The priest was in a way like the governor. In today's society church and state are completely separate and there is NO mixture of the two.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a brilliant writer. He is hard to read sometimes because of the big words he uses. The wording is also different compared to how writers write now. The Scarlet Letter is a good book for its time setting. It has twists and mysteries throughout the whole book. It gives us insight to what life was like in the 17th century.
The setting of House of Seven Gables is centered around the time period of the Salem witch trials. The House of Seven Gables was built on land that used to belong to a man named Matthew Maule who was thought to be a witch. The land was bought by Colonol Pyncheon and he built the seven gabled house that was reputed to be haunted by Matthew Maule's ghost. The house was not only haunted but was one of the biggest estates in the community.
Amanda W